Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 1,222 Shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC owned about 0.11% of Albemarle worth $10,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Albemarle by 1,400.0% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 270 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in Albemarle by 606.5% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA boosted its holdings in Albemarle by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Albemarle in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Albemarle by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 414 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Albemarle from $150.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lowered Albemarle from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Albemarle from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Albemarle presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.68.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total value of $255,328.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,457,296.64. The trade was a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Albemarle Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of ALB opened at $77.03 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $92.12. Albemarle Co. has a one year low of $71.97 and a one year high of $143.19. The company has a market capitalization of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.88 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Albemarle Co. will post -0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -14.46%.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.